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JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
partial cognitive functions and the level in the dimension of
reading competence. Therefore, the objective is to analyse the
relationship between the selected variables (reading competence,
partial cognitive functions) of 4th grade pupils with mild
intellectual disability educated in the conditions of school
inclusion at the Slovak Language and Literature classes. This
creates a research space, within which the research intentions in
the context of examination of current level of reading
competence and partial cognitive functions in cognitive
processes of pupils with MID educated in school inclusion in
elementary school is formulated.
2 Materials and Methods
Research problem and hypotheses formulation
Authors Doidge (2012), Medina (2012), Siegel (2003), Rolloff
(1989, In: Sindelar, 2008), Stanovich (1986), Perfetti & Lesgold
(1977, In: Blachman, 1991), Pokorná (2010b), Co-author (2015);
Zezulková (2011), Valenta & Petráš et al. (2012), Žovinec
(2014) point out the causal influence of cognitive processes and
the related partial cognitive functions on school skills (reading,
writing, counting, etc.) allowing us to deduce that these
predictors also influence the reading competence of the pupils
with MID despite their deficiencies stemming from the primary
diagnosis. Therefore, our task is to uncover mutual relations
between reading competence and partial functions in cognitive
processes, employing targeted cognitive stimulation of this
competence. Even though researchers have been paying enough
attention to this issue in recent times, there has been no research
which would analyse the mutual relationship between reading
competence of the pupils with MID and partial cognitive
functions.
The research problem was formulated as follows: What is the
mutual relationship between the reading level (reading technique
and method, reading comprehension) and the level (or deficits)
of partial cognitive functions of 4th grade pupils with mild
intellectual disability educated in school inclusion? Since we
have not gained any relevant information concerning this view,
we have also been searching for the answers to the research
questions which have resulted from the research problem:
What is the reading level (reading technique and method,
reading comprehension) of 4th grade pupils with mild
intellectual disability educated in school inclusion?
Which deficits in partial cognitive functions are exhibited in 4th
grade pupils with mild intellectual disability educated in school
inclusion?
The main objective of the research is to analyse the relationship
between the selected variables (reading competence, partial
cognitive functions) of 4th grade pupils with mild intellectual
disability educated in the conditions of school inclusion at the
Slovak Language and Literature classes.
In relation to the main research objective and the analysis of the
relationship of the selected variables (reading competence,
partial cognitive functions), we formulate the following research
hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1: The reading level within the reading method of
4th grade pupils with mild intellectual disability educated in
school inclusion at an elementary school is under the statistically
significant influence of the level of partial cognitive functions.
Hypothesis 2: The reading level within the mistakes in reading
technique of 4th grade pupils with mild intellectual disability
educated in school inclusion at an elementary school is under the
statistically significant influence of the level of partial cognitive
functions.
Hypothesis 3: The reading level within the reading
comprehension of 4th grade pupils with mild intellectual
disability educated in school inclusion at an elementary school
correlates to a statistically significant extent with the level of
partial cognitive functions.
Deductions from hypotheses 1, 2, and 3
In the hypothesis testing process, we work on the assumption
that specific modalities (visual perception, auditory perception,
tactile perception and kinaesthetic sense, memory, perception,
attention) are one of the pillars of reading competence (reading
method and technique, reading comprehension). These
modalities are not isolated from each other, but overlap and can
be observed as partial cognitive functions (visual separation or
background/figure differentiation, visual differentiation of
shapes, visual memory, auditory separation or figure/background
differentiation, auditory differentiation of speech, auditory
memory, intermodal relation, time sequence perception, tactile
perception and kinaesthetic sense, spatial orientation) which are
necessary for a pupil to produce a complex outcome, i.e. to be
able to read, write, etc. Therefore, we suppose that the fewer
deficits pupils with MID show in partial cognitive functions, the
higher the level of their reading competence (reading technique
and method, reading comprehension). This relationship is also
indicated by specialised literature which describes the influence
of cognitive functions on school skills (Blachman, 1991; Siegel,
2003; Leeber, 2006; Sindelar, 2007; Pokorná, 2010; Zezulková,
2011; Doidge, 2012; Li
ptáková, 2012; Krejčová, 2013; Žovinec,
2014) and we use it to support our presupposition.
Variable operationalisation
We will work with the following variables in the above-
mentioned hypotheses:
1.
Reading competence of a pupil with mild intellectual
disability, where the attention will be focused on the level
of reading technique and method, reading comprehension,
which a pupil with MID in the 4th grade of elementary
school is supposed to have. In this regard their dependence
on partial cognitive functions, with the intention to point
out their mutual relationship, resp. individual differences in
the research sample will be analysed.
2.
Partial cognitive functions of a pupil with mild intellectual
disability, where partial cognitive functions mean cognitive
functions which are not isolated, but overlap each other and
can be observed in the form of partial cognitive functions,
i.e. visual separation (background/figure differentiation),
visual differentiation of shapes, visual memory, auditory
separation (figure/background differentiation), auditory
memory, tactile perception and kinaesthetic sense, spatial
orientation. In this regard the dependence of reading
competence level on partial cognitive functions, with the
intention to point out their mutual relationship, resp.
individual differences in the research sample will be
analysed.
Research methods and research tools characteristics
To acquire representative data, we used a test as the research
method and this test consisted of oral exercises. The test battery
consisted of Deficits of Partial Functions (Sindelar, adapted by
Černý, 2008), Pedagogical Diagnostics of Reading of the Pupils
(Čižmarovič & Kalná, 1991). These tests are, based on
specification of the objectives researched, knowledge tests
classified as optimum performance tests (from the perspective of
knowledge quality) with combined exercises (i.e. multiple choice
and open response exercises) (Kompolt, In: Švec et al., 1998).
Pedagogical Diagnostics of Reading of the Pupils (Čižmarovič &
Kalná 1991) is a test instrument to assess reading quality and
analyse mistakes in a pupil's reading. Mistakes in the reading
technique and method were scored in four main areas which
were evaluated in more detail depending on the specification of
the mistake made as follows: reading method area: a) spells, b)
syllabifies, c) leaves words out, d) guesses words, e) double
reading, f) fluent reading; mistakes in reading technique – this
area consisted of two sub-areas: letters/sounds – a) confuses
letters (confuses similarly shaped letters, confuses acoustically
similar letters, confuses dissimilar letters), b) leaves letters out,
c) adds letters; syllables –a) confuses syllables, b) leaves
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